As Ever

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

"Why... why must we suffer such misfortune? Why is this happening?"

In the capital city of Parmenio, starving and emaciated refugees endured the musty smells of rain in makeshift shacks erected under the eaves of spire-shaped buildings.

Since the war began these days, some unheard-of, hideous and terrifying enemies, as ugly as demons, have appeared in this beautiful Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar.

From then on, the city, which was once as beautiful as paradise in the Imperium of Man, became a breeding ground for plague and mosquitoes—and the days of continuous rain seemed to never stop.

The rulers have done their best to relocate non-military personnel from Parmenio, but very few civilians have actually been able to leave the battlefield; most of them are local nobles and powerful merchants.

Even if they could leave Parmenio, what world would be willing to accept them, to accept these potential virus carriers?

The Plague Wars has made everyone in the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar feel insecure, and no one would agree to bring these Primarch, which may carry the most terrifying viruses, to their own planet.

In addition, there was also the fear that the Nurgle plague would spread under the guise of transport ships, making it impossible to prevent.

When people are discriminated against and abused to the point of no return, the Nurgle plague cult takes the opportunity to win people's hearts and minds, and drag everyone into this shared fate of destruction under the guise of the patients' revenge on the healthy.

Therefore, their fate seemed sealed—either the human Angel would defeat the evil Warp Entity, Ultramar would return to its former paradise;

Either the evil forces completely breach their defenses, and all the people of Parmenio perish here.

And looking at the crowds fleeing during the chaos in the city, shouting "The Emperor is dead!", it seems that what they say is true; the Emperor is indeed...

Despair enveloped everyone's thoughts.

This is exactly the situation that the Nurgle forces want to see—a Imperium of Man filled with despair, death, and decay, a world that remains lifeless even without the plague.

"Hehehe, it's raining!"

But he, a little boy who was also pale and thin, took a step toward that goal.

"My son, Paul, come back!"

The mother desperately tried to stop her precious child, but she wasn't as quick as she had thought.

The Emperor's Angel once said that the world's rainwater had long been polluted due to the release of toxic gases. Rainwater containing corrosive substances and germs must be avoided from getting wet or drinking, otherwise, more serious health problems would occur.

"I'm fine!"

Children's senses are more sensitive than those of most people—especially since adults have become numb from long-term suffering.

Just as he stepped into the crowd, countless tiny water droplets splashed up behind him—surrounded by these droplets, he happily skipped along the stone path, passing through one lifeless shed after another.

The lush green leaves, a symbol of life, are now growing vigorously in the rain.

"This rain is different!"

"I'm cured! All those filthy things seem to have disappeared! Our world is saved!"

"My body doesn't hurt anymore!"

"It's a sun shower! The sun is finally out in the sky!"

Rain.

Back when humans were still farming on the land of Terra, it was the key to Nima—symbolizing the year's harvest and the very foundation upon which humanity depended for survival.

But rain doesn't come all the time.

When drought or flood strikes, desperate people will build temples to so-called gods in order to pray for their mercy.

But no matter how many sacrifices are held, or how devout the believers and nobles preside over them, nothing will change.

The gods never grant human prayers.

We must save ourselves.

Whether it's artificial precipitation or ocean desalination, people must solve the problem themselves, even if their thinking is foolish and inefficient.

But if even the belief in oneself is lost, then humanity will forever be forced to kneel and pray in corrupt and stagnant temples, pleading with a great being to deliver them from eternal torment.

He firmly believed that from then on, people would no longer turn to gods or some otherworldly ruler for the unknown and superstition—whether it be a dragon king, Emperor, or a benevolent father, the result would be the same.

There are no Emperor in the heavens, nor dragon kings on earth.

Humanity, through its own efforts, regained rain.

The Plague Wars ended with a complete victory for humanity.

Shortly after the Nurgle army on Parmenio thought they had defeated the Emperor, they spontaneously combusted and eventually disappeared as if punished by the Emperor. The entire world, and even many planets that had been conquered by the Nurgle and turned into Daemon World, were rekindled with golden-red flames.

Countless Nurgle Daemon, plague zombies, and their vile, venomous swamp colonies vanished completely in the scorching heat of an unknown flame.

The rotting legion vanished completely, leaving only the commander of the Death Guard, who, with his remaining men who were not yet completely charred, fled towards the Eye of Terror aboard a ship that was now infinitely cleaner.

As for the remaining Nurgle Daemon, and the corruption they left behind, they were all completely wiped out in the flames.

Meanwhile, Matthieu, who had gone to the swamp to destroy the Greater Daemon Ku'gath and its Plague Cauldron, also perfectly completed his mission.

Protected by the burning flames, Matthieu used his last bit of strength to throw the cookie in his hand at the bubbling giant cauldron—but to everyone's surprise, the Nurgle artifact, which had been through countless battles and refined countless poisons and filth, shattered completely under the impact of this cookie, turning into dust!

That's terrifying, Aqua Duna.

She accomplished what even Nurgle himself couldn't do.

There are many different theories about why the Nurgle Daemon would spontaneously combust.

The Imperial Cult insists that this is the result of the Emperor's divine intervention, while the Ultramarines attribute it to Matthieu's destruction of the Plague Cauldron, which in turn destroyed the nourishment the demons depended on for survival.

Another widely circulated folk tale says that the Emperor used his own avatar as bait to enter the enemy's core territory, and then detonated the entire demon realm at the cost of self-destruction.

It is said that Nurgle's Garden of Nurgle, which he had painstakingly cultivated for countless years, was completely burned to ashes in the Emperor's flames, and even the Chaos God himself was greatly weakened by that attack.

Whether it was the demons under His command or the legions He was so proud of, they were all burned to ashes in that devastating explosion, never to be heard of again.

--As for the Warp gods' reaction to Nurgle's weakness, they were like hyenas smelling blood, all trying to get a piece of the pie.

While no one was paying attention, a fierce multi-party war for authority, power, and spheres of influence broke out once again in the armies of the Chaos Gods in the Warp.

Their entire fortune was completely destroyed.

Compared to the crushing defeat ten thousand years ago, this failure is enough to send Him forever off the stage of vying for supremacy.

Of course, no one would know that this statement originated from book number 9999 on the ninth shelf of the ninth archive of the Parmenio Library.

"It's time to set off."

After burning down Garden of Nurgle, Kasgar now feels incredibly refreshed.

It's like popping a giant herpes sore and finally healing—a little disgusting, but secretly satisfying.

After completing his evolution in Garden of Nurgle, all the cracks on his body have disappeared—you could even say he no longer has a body. He's more like a Warp Entity now, and his body has to be restored by Psychic Flame.

The advantage, however, is that Kasgar can now finally maintain his body without relying on armor.

He had always felt like a ticking time bomb—if it weren't for the stability provided by the Dora Cawl armor, his body would have exploded completely in the Realspace long ago, creating a second Eye of Terror.

Now he can freely use the fire Psychic Power in his hands, and he is confident that if he encounters Magnus again, he can defeat him this time with his own methods.

Purified by the flames, Parmenio has shaken off the gloom that once shrouded him.

The Five Hundred Worlds returned to its former peace.

The roaring Adeptus Mechanicus's colossal machines began spewing out materials and parts once more to construct new buildings.

In this world that has survived the catastrophe, smiles are now everywhere.

Except for Aqua.

She seemed a little unhappy.

She initially believed that her second life would allow her to once again display her unparalleled swordsmanship on the battlefield, but ultimately, it seemed her attacks were more like those of a... chef?

Of course, a better title is Apothecary.

Because apart from Aqua herself, no one thought what she was making was food.

But it works very well.

Even in a single experiment, Kasgar had the Inquisition bind and summon a Nurgle Daemonhost, and after the host confidently asserted that its body could withstand any poison, it was completely purified by Aqua's food—leaving not even a trace behind.

The countless experiments that followed only proved one terrifying point—when it comes to poison-making techniques, Aqua might be the true Nurgle.

Poor cooking skills are just an excuse for others not recognizing one's potential!

The False Divine Plague: A poison that must be injected, while also ensuring...

The real Divine Plague: whoever eats it will die.

"You've finally come out, Mortarion."

Besides being able to create a real "Divine Plague," Aqua also serves to lure out snakes from their holes.

The Primarch Mortarion, who had been lurking in Parmenio for who knows how long, finally made his appearance at this moment.

His research into numerology has given him a kind of ability that is similar to prophecy and invisibility.

He can calculate the optimal distance between himself and others, thus achieving the ability to completely disappear from sight.

Although he still deeply dislikes Psychic Powers, the power of mathematics has granted him some formidable abilities—the power to praise mathematics!

His entire legion has defected, and unfortunately, because of this, coupled with the fact that he has not appeared in people's sight for ten thousand years, he is still classified as a traitor in the current records of the Imperium.

He was either a traitor who failed in his military command and fled to avoid punishment.

Even though he was the one who was kicked out, history is just that merciless.

Poor Mortarion.

"That's perfect, I'll give you the job of a bird fortune teller."

With Primarch-level computing power, coupled with the enhancement of numerology, he would have virtually no rivals if he were in charge of the Voidship Naval War.

Under Mortarion's command, eleven out of ten shots will hit the target.

"Now that we've assisted Ultramarines Chapter Calgar in dealing with the Tyranid Fleet threat, we can head straight for Terra!"

According to Kasgar, he received a secret order from the Emperor — the High Lords of Terra, especially High Lord Vandire of the Ministry of the Interior, has become corrupt. The Imperium of Man is now beset by internal and external troubles, with Xenos and Chaos forces running rampant, Imperium of Man is now in a state of crisis.

The High Lord are no longer able to fulfill the sacred mission entrusted to them by the Emperor. Therefore, Charlotte, the Prince of the Sons of the Phoenix, will serve as the new Imperial Regent, wielding all power over the Imperium!

As the one who was possessed by the Emperor in front of everyone and ultimately annihilated Nurgle Daemon, his words earned the trust of the Ultramarines and the Imperial Cult.

Without his efforts, the entire Ultramar would have become Chaos hellhole!

"And you, the Second Captain clinging to Company Cato Sicarius," Kasgar yanked the little girl who was playing with the Second Captain's broom-like hair off, "You're coming with me too!"

"Don't want!"

"I! Don't! Want! It!"

She's a little girl? Pshaw! Guilliman knows all too well why Kasgar wanted to bring him along!

Isn't it all so that he can keep helping the other party organize documents, becoming a tool that's locked in the office all day?

The thought of facing the backlog of millions of world reports caused by the shutdown of the Ministry of the Interior is terrifying.

He has been tormented for seven thousand years!

Why again? Guilliman felt he needed to go and fight that damned Magnus one more time.

"You must come together; perhaps the Emperor will have a way to lift your curse."

"Emperor?"

Hearing this name, Loli-man felt a little guilty.

Did the Emperor even know he was "having children"?

What would he think if he saw Guilliman transformed into Loli-man after having children?

"Once everything is ready, we'll set off immediately."

"As for now, I have one more thing," Kasgar said, placing the sulking Loli-man back on the Second Captain's shoulder.

"I still have someone to visit."

Parmenio Hospital.

In the sealed room on the top floor, he looked into the ward through three layers of armored glass.

Each layer of glass is engraved with sacred symbols, which, along with the machinery within, resist the influence of the Warp.

Matthieu occupied the only hospital bed in the room.

Medical equipment filled the space around him. He had no wounds, but there wasn't a single piece of intact flesh on his body either—all a result of illness.

He now looks more like a pile of sticks in human skin than a human being. Matthieu's few remaining locks of hair, which he was once so proud of, are now falling out and covering his pillow.

He was wearing an oxygen mask, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, still oozing pus.

Is he still alive?

Even though he already knew the final outcome, Kasgar still looked at the doctor and said, "From a purely physical medical perspective..."

"From a medical perspective?" the doctor replied. "I don't know. It should be impossible. He entered the most contaminated area without any protection."

According to the Space Marine, he destroyed the enemy's most terrifying plague container, but he himself became afflicted with numerous illnesses as a result.

As you can see, he was exposed to all types of disease and the malice of the Warp. But he still lived.

"I know," Kasgar said.

"Although the Psychic Power factors that tormented him have been deactivated, which we have witnessed, the combination of multiple illnesses should have killed him hours ago. He should not be alive now."

"He longs to see you, sir. In other words, I believe that's what drives him to live."

"I've seen soldiers who should have succumbed to their wounds hours earlier, holding on until the chaplain of the unit gave them their last rites. I've seen men with wounds that could kill Space Marine, holding on until they had completed their mission before allowing themselves to die."

But this time is different.

"It's different. He should still be dead. Something happened here that I don't understand. He was kept alive by some kind of force, I'm pretty sure of that. These things can block any external spiritual power." He pointed to the holy symbol on the glass.

"Because this is my power."

Matthieu's voice was so weak it was almost inaudible, yet somehow he seemed to hear the conversation between the two outside. "Come in, friend, I have something to say to you."

I'm sorry, but...

Kasgar might be able to heal wounds, mutations, and diseases with Psychic Flame, but Matthieu suffered far more horrific consequences.

But the malevolent cauldron of plague corroded Matthieu's soul the instant it made contact—among the thousands of plagues that target non-material beings, Matthieu's soul lost its inherent vitality.

What's more, at that crucial moment, he threw all of his only means of protection Aqua cookies, into the cauldron.

Matthieu, who had lost his protection

"We have won, Matthieu. Those Chaos creatures have been driven from our world, their homeland wiped out by the Emperor —they will never again be able to invade our world and spread plagues at will!"

"We won!"

"Yes. It's us. This is our victory."

"Actually."

A faint smile appeared on Matthieu's gaunt face, "I knew all along you weren't the Emperor. The feeling between the two of you is different. I've seen him; you're not him."

"But you did a great job. Thank you. I didn't know who you were, but seeing you guiding people, I... I... cough cough, uh--"

"Stop for a moment, Matthieu." Kasgar was infected by this sadness. "I know what you mean, don't force yourself."

"Let me finish speaking; these are my last words."

He gently raised his hand, signaling himself to continue, "I hope, I implore you, that you can continue like him, like him. Continue on."

"We follow not Emperor or you, but an ideal and a hope that can save humanity."

"I will fight for you, I will fight for this goal."

"As always?"

"As always."

The flame in Matthieu's heart, beneath his final smile...

Burning eternally.